Martial Cultivator

”Come, let’s go take a look.”

Chen Chao was not the sort of person who simply went along with whatever others said. Most of the time, what he cared about was seeing things with his own eyes.

Song Lian also smiled as he looked at Minister Du, thinking to himself: I may be annoying, but when it comes to being hard to fool, it has to be our Lord Warden Commander here who is the hardest to fool.

Minister Du glanced at Song Lian, showing no sign of unease, and said with a chuckle, ”Fine, let’s go. Come take a look at what this official has practically worked myself to death to produce these past days.”

Chen Chao smiled and nodded, taking the lead as he walked out. Minister Du and Song Lian followed on either side, accompanying this Lord Warden Commander who had returned to the capital, heading toward one of the Ministry of Works’ workshops in the Divine Capital.

Speaking of the workshop, in truth, they had Chen Chao to thank. When the Ministry of Works first began manufacturing military equipment, they only had a small space in the Divine Capital. Given that land there was worth its weight in gold, it was understandable. But later, when swordsmiths from Sword Qi Mountain arrived, the Ministry of Works seized the opportunity to submit a memorial requesting expansion of the workshop. His Majesty did not obstruct it and quickly approved the proposal.

What surprised Minister Du even more was that the entire street where the workshop had originally been located was directly assigned to the Ministry of Works. Now, with a whole street of workshops, not only could they manufacture military equipment for the frontier army, but they could also produce various tools and facilities beneficial to the people.

By the time Chen Chao arrived at the workshop, many craftsmen had stopped their work, staring curiously at the now well-known Lord Warden Commander.

Before Chen Chao could speak, Minister Du snapped impatiently, ”What are you looking at? He’s got one head and two legs just like you. Is the Lord Warden Commander that rare? Get back to work! If you delay the schedule, you’ll have hell to pay!”

Though his words were far from gentle, the craftsmen showed not the slightest fear. Instead, they grumbled under their breath before lowering their heads and returning to work.

From this, it was clear that Minister Du was the kind of person who had a sharp tongue but a soft heart when dealing with these craftsmen.

And indeed, that was the case. In his early years, after entering officialdom through the imperial examinations as a scholar from the academy, he had not chosen the more illustrious path of climbing the bureaucratic ranks. Instead, he threw himself into the Ministry of Works, starting as a minor official and steadily rising step by step to become its current head. As Minister Du himself put it, ”Your Father spent my whole life studying books. I know I don’t have the talent to govern the nation and bring peace to the realm, so I might as well do something practical for the common people.”

During his tenure, the Ministry of Works had indeed introduced countless improvements for the people of Great Liang, developing tools, digging canals, and constructing embankments along riverbanks, sparing no effort.

During the great flood in Wei Prefecture in the eleventh year of Tianjian, the imperial court was furious. Countless river officials were implicated, and even officials from the Ministry of Works in the Divine Capital were thrown into prison if they were connected to the matter. Yet no matter how thoroughly they investigated, nothing could be pinned on Minister Du. Moreover, he repeatedly submitted memorials, arguing his case before the Great Liang Emperor, resulting in many officials being pardoned or given lighter sentences.

It was only later, after the Wei Family was investigated and their assets confiscated, that the truth came to light, it turned out the fault had never lain with the Ministry of Works at all.

As for the craftsmen under his charge, Minister Du treated them with great care. He never put on airs as an official, to the point that those above and below alike never regarded him as some untouchable high-ranking court minister.

Among the Six Ministries, only the Ministry of Works was like this.

Even more admirable was that over the past decade or so, in every official evaluation, Minister Du had received top marks. Several times, the imperial court had intended, according to regulations, to promote him to another ministry, yet each time he refused.

He had taken root in the Ministry of Works and had no desire to move at all.

For this alone, Minister Du was unique within the court.

Even those officials who did not get along with him could not help but admire his dedication to the people.

The three of them arrived at an open-air square, where more than a hundred furnaces stood at once. The moment they entered, the waves of heat in the air were visible to the naked eye.

Minister Du simply stripped off his upper garment, revealing his skinny frame, removed his official hat, and said to Chen Chao, ”Lord Warden Commander, at present, the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works can only keep just over a hundred furnaces burning without extinguishing them. Work goes on day and night, with shifts rotating, but the fire in the furnaces never goes out.”

Chen Chao looked at the sweat-drenched craftsmen and frowned. ”In a few days, this official go get some talismans for you to lower the temperature. How can anyone endure a place like this?”

Minister Du shook his head and narrowed his eyes with a smile. “Those swordsmiths from Sword Qi Mountain said that if talismans are used and the temperature inside the furnaces is affected, that won’t do.”

Hearing this, Chen Chao had nothing more to say. He simply looked at the craftsmen bent over their work, a trace of gratitude in his eyes.

Minister Du led the two of them to a quenching area, where dozens of suits of armor were piled up, lacking only the final step.

Chen Chao glanced over, then reached out and flicked a piece of armor that had already been forged. With a light flick, the armor plate remained unharmed. A glimmer appeared in Chen Chao’s eyes. “This is truly not bad.”

As a powerful existence at the end of Nepenthe, Chen Chao could tell the quality of the newly forged armor the moment he made a move.

Minister Du subconsciously stroked his beard, only to find it damp. Somewhat displeased, he wiped his hand on his trousers and chuckled. “Though the schedule is tight, quality cannot be lost. That’s an old tradition of the Ministry of Works. Lord Warden Commander need not worry.”

Chen Chao asked, “How many sets have been forged so far?”

Minister Du shook his head somewhat awkwardly. “Not many, not many. Truly not many.”

Chen Chao smiled and did not speak.

Minister Du raised a hand and waved it.

Chen Chao narrowed his eyes and asked, “Five hundred sets?”

Hearing this, Minister Du jumped up at once and pointed at Chen Chao’s nose as he scolded, “Does Lord Warden Commander look down on the Ministry of Works’ capability that much?”

Chen Chao said in surprise, “Ah?”

Minister Du let out a cold laugh. “Not more, not less - five thousand sets!”

Chen Chao drew in a sharp breath very cooperatively and murmured, “That many...”

Minister Du burst into loud laughter, clearly very satisfied with Chen Chao’s reaction. This Minister of Works stroked his beard proudly, his smile deep.

How could Song Lian not know Chen Chao’s temperament? He had to struggle hard to hold back his laughter.

Chen Chao came back to his senses and said seriously, “Then have them equipped first and transported to the Northern Frontier immediately.”

Minister Du asked curiously, “Have the soldiers already been selected?”

Chen Chao smiled. “There are so many people in the Northern Frontier, there’s only a shortage of armor, never a shortage of men. This official already made arrangements with Great General Ning. The soldiers have already been selected. Once these five thousand suits of armor are sent to the Northern Frontier, they can be equipped immediately.”

Minister Du nodded, having no objections. The armor was forged precisely for the war in the Northern Frontier.

“However, there’s one thing Lord Warden Commander should know. This first batch of armor will likely be of the lowest quality. As the craftsmen continue forging, they will gradually improve it. The later batches should be even better.”

Chen Chao nodded and said calmly, “Right, this official found some Dragonblood Stones during this trip. The Ministry of Works can process them together when the time comes.”

Minister Du was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. “These days, the imperial court is full of rumors that Lord Warden Commander never returns empty-handed. Now it seems that it’s indeed true.”

Chen Chao smiled helplessly. “This official’s already limited good reputation has truly been ruined by those high officials in court. No need to say, this must have first spread from my own warden faction. The culprit might even be right by this official’s side.”

Chen Chao’s words, whether intentionally or not, were aimed at Song Lian.

Song Lian kept a straight face. “That has nothing to do with this lowly official.”

Chen Chao laughed it off.

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